The overhead neon lights almost blinded Damion as he walked into the club. He had to close his eyes for a second so that he could adjust to the lighting.His senses felt like they were going into overdrive. The sound from the speakers were booming in his head and he felt like he was one with the music–in a bad way though. Also, the smell of sweat mingled with cigarettes and weed made him want to puke and he immediately regretted not taking up Bella’s offer of a VIP lounge. He looked up and saw Bella far ahead in the crowd, and he fought his way forward, trying to get to her.“Hey, you enjoying yourself?” Bella shouted over the music. “Actually, no. How do you even get to enjoy a place as noisy as this?” A dull ache had began to form in the back of his head and he just wanted to go home and sleep the night off.They finally passed the dance floor and arrived at the bar. He saw as Bella comfortably flopped herself on one of the bar stools and he followed suit.Bella ordered a Scotch
It was time for Damion to pay his school fees. He had been accepted into the most prestigious university to study medicine.Lance Towers was a conglomerate firm that specialized in a lot of business ventures. They had the tech side of the company, as well as a hospital and school. And Damion was more interested in working in the hospital. Sure, he would become the CEO in a few years’ time, but before then he wanted to help sick people.Waking up early that morning, he picked out his clothes and set out for the university. He had already taken the day off of work so he would be able to focus on the payment for the day.As he approached the registration office, there were murmurs and whispers around him, making him uneasy but he drowned them out. He was used to the ‘talks behind his back’ already.He sat down and waited his turn to join the queue. By the time his number was called and he joined the queue , he noticed that people were avoiding him.Their reactions were so disturbing tha
Damion was sweating profusely as he sat down in the police station. His face was bloodied, one of his eyes swollen shut, and he was hurting everywhere, which was the handiwork of some boys at the institution.Before the police arrived, the crowd had surged forward, wanting to take matters into their own hands. And while one of the security guards was trying his best to keep the mob back, four boys had broken from the crowd and had started beating him and the second one just stood and watched the scene without providing any help.Well, that was how things were done anyway but he had hoped the guard would see past his status and help him as a fellow human being. But even that was too much to ask for. Even now in the police station, he was regarded as a filthy animal polluting their station by the officers. He sat patiently, although nervous, hoping someone would attend to him.His right hand was handcuffed to the leg of the table he was sitting at, so he had no means of escape and ther
“Hey cousin. It’s Damion speaking. I’m in the police station and I need someone to bail me out. Can you please…” Damion had not finished speaking when the call was cut off. It was the beep that sounded in his ears that made him realize that Bella had hung up on him.Devastated, he handed the phone back to the officer. “Well…?” the officer asked him.“She hung up,” he whispered, his voice cracking at the end. He swallowed the tears that threatened to fall as he avoided the officer’s pitiful gaze.“Is there no one else you can call?” Damion just shook his head. He was grateful to the officer because he knew he was helping him. For once, someone was treating him like a human being and his throat swelled with emotions again.The only other person he could call in this kind of situation was his grandfather, but he was sure the old man was listening in on the call. And the way Bella hung up on him showed that they were disgraced and ashamed of him.He felt so bitter at the way his life was
Damion stayed at the Lance mansion for over a week until he recovered. His cousin had phoned his workplace and requested for a sick leave for him. She also wanted to call the Chancellor of the institution where Damion was supposed to be offered admission and work the details out so he didn’t have to go there by himself anymore.But Damion refused, wanting to sort it out himself. If he continued to rely on them, word would get out sooner or later and suspicions would start to arise. And to be honest, Damion was not ready for the drama just yet.A couple of days after the incident, Damion was able to walk around without pain and the dark bruise on his eye had faded. He decided to go to the registration office again and pay the acceptance fee.This time around, he had clearance from the police station for the money he carried with him and no one would dare accuse him of robbery again, he hoped. He joined the small queue that was forming in front of the cashie
“I knew you were going to come back here. From the first day I saw you here, you looked like a stubborn animal who would not recognize the signs and follow them. Was my message not clear the first time that we don’t want the likes of you at our school?” the big boy in front spat with venom.Damion swallowed as he continued backwards. He knew that he shouldn’t be surprised at the turn of events. Life for him had never been easy and it was not going to start getting easy now.Bad luck seemed to follow him wherever he went. He had finally crossed over the hurdle in the way of his admission and now he must suffer for it. Why was life being so unfair?He watched the muscles ripple on the arms of the boy that spoke as he also eyed the boys following him. The boy that spoke seemed to be their leader though.Damion’s eye darted to his bike as he calculated the distance between them and if he could successfully drive away and escape this group of bullies.<
Damion roused from his sleep with a banging headache. He saw Bella staring down at him, smoothing his forehead and his heart ached.Never had anyone shown him that kind of affection before. He never knew his mother and there was no way the old ladies in the orphanage would do this when they were so exhausted everyday, they almost slept on their feet.He tried to sit up and groaned when he felt a sharp pain in his side. Bella shushed him as she continued to smoothen his forehead, “Just lie down and rest. You need it.”“W-wat-ter,” Damion croaked and Bella snatched the bottle she had kept for him on his nightstand and extended it to him. He gulped down the water like a man that had been trapped in the desert for years and didn’t stop until the bottle was empty.Bella regarded him for a while before she asked the question that had been gnawing on her mind since she saw his appearance when the bodyguards helped him in. “Who did this to you?”
Damion woke up energetic that morning. It was the first day of school when he would start lectures. He had been researching so much on his courses, reading and soaking up the knowledge he could get during the night.His routine at work had also changed the day before, and now he only worked part-time, delivering pizzas in the evenings. His grandfather and cousin had tried to talk him out of it but he remained as stubborn as ever, and it was safe to say that they weren’t happy with his decision.He hurriedly dressed up, excited about his first day at college. He wondered how different it would feel compared to high school, and he was about to find out.He arrived at the institution two hours before his first lecture, just so that he would have ample time to survey and appreciate the beauty of the buildings. He found a spot for his bike in the parking lot and trekked down the sidewalk, awe in his gaze.Riverdale College was not named the most beautiful college in the whole of the state